Centurio
by M. Monster
Summary: ..."Well? You gonna go on inside?" The silent 'punk' hung between the bangaa and Vaan. This is not what he thought a clan would be like.


Vaan supposed that Tomaj could have been given a slightly better tip than 'a bangaa,' and he also supposed that the large tome he was carrying could have been explained as well. All bangaa that Vaan took a cursory glance at earned him hisses or lowered gazes, often followed by a comment like "are you feeling lucky, punk?"

Eventually the teenager sat, defeated, in a corner of the Muthru Bazaar. He turned over the large tome in his hands—it had a weathered appearance despite being brand new. As he turned the large book over, he noticed the snout of a bangaa sniffing the air over his shoulder. Vaan jumped, and almost clocked the older creature in the nose. He let out a raspy bark of a laugh.

"Ah, a clan primer, eh? I see, I see." The bangaa held open the door Vaan hadn't noticed before. He shifted, as if he was not sure the door's guardian was really permitting him through. Moments pass before he speaks impatiently, "You gonna go on in or what?" The ever silent 'punk' rang in the air between them.

"Uh, yeah, sorry," Vaan walked in, trying to catch a glance at the bangaa before the door closed abruptly on his heels (Vaan could hear the ornery bangaa through the door muttering about 'punks' and their 'insatiable urge for adventure' leading to 'incredibly rude behavior').

At his entrance, the lavish Rabanastran hall does not even spare Vaan a glance. The occupants all appear to be well-rounded monster- or bounty-hunters. There are mages or all kinds: black, white, blue, green, and red, time, arcane— Vaan is slightly regretful he picked up a sword over a staff at their elegant clothing and regal appearance. The door opens behind Vaan and he moves away from it to give way to the group that entered. A bangaa gladiator sneered at him as he passed, the copper color of his helm glinting, and a viera sniper didn't even spare Vaan a glance. A nu mou sage shuffles past, tipping his head slightly in greeting. A young hume thief tries to pickpocket Vaan while he is distracted with the sage, but as a seasoned foist himself, he keeps his gil bag. At the end of the brigade of hunters is a soldier unlike any Vaan had seen before.

He doesn't look like the Archadian soldiers outside these walls; he appears young, not much older than Vaan, but he carries an air of such power about him. His armor glints in the light—it appears silver in color, but obviously made of a stronger alloy; the two un-similar swords hanging on his hips draw envious glances from the hallway. His blonde hair is almost a sunflower color, and the crowd parts to make way for the motley crew as they pass.

"That's _Marche_," one of the viera bounty-hunters whisper to a hume woman. A man who is nearby turns sharply.

"Marche—as in one of the clan founders?" Their conversation continues in whispers. Vaan realizes the boisterous conversations in the hall have halted and are now focused around the people who just entered the hall. He overheard clips of conversations.

"I fought with him once," a clanner bragged. "_Amazing_. Never got me ass handed to me so quickly—"

Another member said hazily, "I didn't know this was the same Centurio as _his_,"

Quiet gossip stirs in the hallway as the soldier and his party climbs the stairs to talk with the moogle at the top. After conversation dies down, Vaan too climbs the stairs to the moogle-in-charge. Marche stops talking abruptly as the teenager reaches the top.

"Your face is a new one, kupo," the moogle smiled. "I'm Montblanc, co-kupo of this clan. You'll have to get my approval before you're kupopo," Montblanc inclines his head in a regal fashion and the ball of fur on his head ('antennae? Stalk?' Vaan wonders) bobs; he appeared to be thinking, scrutinizing Vaan. Marche offers Vaan an apologetic smile for the eccentric moogle. "Welcome to Centurio, kupo!" At Vaan's expression, he explained "the first rule about moogles is we're quick to decide, kupo."

The imposing blonde beside him nods, and offers another smile. "Welcome to the clan," he says softly, before clapping Montblanc on the shoulder and jerking his head to his party to the back hall, hidden behind a curtain.

Montblanc smiles at Vaan again. "I don't have kupo for you now, but if you check the pokupo in Sandsea, there is sure to be kupo soon."

"Uh, right," Vaan said vaguely, still gazing at the thick curtain that blocked his view of the rear hallways. How much time, he wondered, would it take for me to grow as powerful as him?


End file.
